Survivorman fan found dead in Muskoka wilderness

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Kirk D

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http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/art...d-in-huntsville-is-missing-toronto-hiker?bn=1

Below are the first paragraphs; there are far more in the above news information.

Just before dawn on Thursday morning, Richard Code disappeared into the darkness and lit out for the Ontario wilderness, bringing little more than a few supplies and the skills he had learned from watching Survivorman, a reality show about subsisting in the bush.

Police say Code’s death is not considered suspicious at this time and his brother Stephen Code said OPP have informed him that the cause of death was hypothermia.

For some outdoor education experts, “survivalist” reality shows have skewed the public’s perception of how dangerous it really is to live off the land, prompting inexperienced campers to venture into the woods with a bolstered sense of confidence.

For survival instructor Gino Ferri, shows like Survivorman make for excellent entertainment but should never substitute real-world training.

“TV abstracts the real ugliness of survival,” said Ferri, who runs a school called Survival in the Bush and trained Stroud back in the day. “They make the wilderness look like it’s a romantic place. Well, it’s romantic, as long as you have all your gear and you’re camping and enjoying it. In a survival situation, it’s a nightmare.”

Stephen Code, who lives in Kitchener, said his brother was passionate about survival trips but as far as he knew, he also lacked any formal training.

“I understand that Richard has done some self-teaching, training, through the video work this gentleman’s (Stroud) done,” Code said.
 
I hate reading news stories like this because the writer's generally has no clue what they are writing about yet bring every if and or but into it to make it newsworthy.

It's unfortunate this happened.
Many folks interviewed have speculated about his skill level, lack of proper equipment, what got him interested in wilderness survival, TV shows.
When it comes down to it, no one but the guy that died really knows what kind of skills he had.
Maybe he just had a H/A and died?
If my time was up here, i'd wish to go out with my last vision being the beautiful wilderness.
 
I suppose if he had been a fan of Man vs. Wild he would have been down the street from a Holiday Inn....

It's a sad story, but I'd agree that there's probably a lot we don't know.

Condolences to his family.
 
PorcupineMtns66 said:
I hate reading news stories like this because the writer's generally has no clue what they are writing about yet bring every if and or but into it to make it newsworthy.

It's unfortunate this happened.
Many folks interviewed have speculated about his skill level, lack of proper equipment, what got him interested in wilderness survival, TV shows.
When it comes down to it, no one but the guy that died really knows what kind of skills he had.
Maybe he just had a H/A and died?
If my time was up here, i'd wish to go out with my last vision being the beautiful wilderness.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. This is definitely one of those situations where everyone involved doesn't have a clue what his true knowledge was and will comment on it. Who knows what their own knowledge may be, minus the survival instructor who I hope has a clue.

The fact that he left a note that tells us he knew there was a major risk is saddening in itself. He should have gone with somebody else if he knew it could be that bad. Then again, he knew the risk perfectly well. Sucks that it happened, just hope people can actually learn something from it.
 
That's my area... but Burks Falls is full of farms. It's kinda odd he would run into that much trouble. I think there is probably more to this story, like some kind of illness or injury. I've gone on survival trips solo and untrained since age 15 at this time of year.
 
.....venturing into the wild isn't all that demanding; if nothing else TV should have taught the attentive viewer that it's just a matter of drinking one's urine for hydration, biting the head off a few live reptiles and an occasional bat for sustenance, and scrambling through the most treacherous parts of river rapids......in order to safely makes ones way by evening to a warm bed at the local Holiday Inn. (Side trips to the occasional dank cave or leech infested drainage ditch optional). :)

- regards
 
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Well, if you're going to watch a "survival" show, Stroud's was about the best...sad to hear that the guy died, but it could have been any number of reasons that led to hypothermia; a knock in the head, mild heart attack or stroke, getting too wet and not recognizing the symptoms. My family loves backpacking/camping and my wife actually wants to do a primitive survival course...even if I was to go solo, it would be close to the house or even a camp ground. I don't care how much preparation, safety precautions or how careful you are...bad things and accidents happen; in the military, we call it "Mr. Murphy". It's not just this individual, it happens to inexperienced backpacker, rock climbers, kayakers, etc.

It's a sad event, but I do agree that there are worse places and ways to go. "Reality" TV shows like Survivorman, Man vs. Wild, etc. are not to blame in my opinion...just because I see NASCAR I don't drive 120 down the back roads; there is still a certain level of individual responsibility.

ROCK6
 
It sure doesn't take long for the Man vs. Wild bashers to comment in a thread that has to do with Survivorman.

This guy was just trying to copy Survivorman (who does Les Stroud think he is, a comic-book hero?) where he basically goes into the woods for 7 days and starves.

Hopefully he was wearing his brand new Columbia jackets like Les always did. Did he bring a harmonica too, but leave his firestarting equipment back home? Did he bring his guitar and a car battery but leave his water bottle back home?
 
riz_aaroni said:
This is definitely one of those situations where everyone involved doesn't have a clue what his true knowledge was and will comment on it.
Click to expand...
I don't know about that. According to the article both his brother and father questioned his skill and training to be doing what he was doing and expressed that concern to him. If he did have the training and skills to be doing what he was doing, he certainly does not seem to have been able to convince them of that.

The fact that he left a note that tells us he knew there was a major risk is saddening in itself.
Click to expand...
Not at all! Leaving word with someone as to when you expect to return from a wilderness trip is basic wilderness SOP, even when traveling with a group. Someone should always know when you are expected back. It's one of the few thing we know that the guy actually did right. :thumbup:

Varg Lobos said:
This guy was just trying to copy Survivorman (who does Les Stroud think he is, a comic-book hero?) where he basically goes into the woods for 7 days and starves.
Click to expand...
I really don't understand the hate for Les Stroud? He puts together and entertaining and informative program for television about some of the realities of survival situations. He often stresses the deadly dangers of real survival. If someone runs off into the wilderness with nothing but a pocket knife and thinks he is prepared becuase he watched a couple episodes of Survivorman, that's his own fault, not Les'. :rolleyes:

Sure, he might have died of something unavoidable like a stroke or heart attack, but given what we know from the article it seems much more likely that he simply took on more than he was prepared form, and his lack of skills and lack of gear is what did him in. :(
 
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also the article doesn;t mention what he was wearing when he ventured into the candian winter wildernes.. less Stroud puts allot of thought in to his clothing for specific environments(as any experienced outdoorsman should) ... Going out in jeans in the and a heavy cotton jacketin the dead of winter.. alls it'd take is a good rainstorm, and a stubborn fire to make things go south real fast........
 
Varg Lobos said:
It sure doesn't take long for the Man vs. Wild bashers to comment in a thread that has to do with Survivorman.

This guy was just trying to copy Survivorman (who does Les Stroud think he is, a comic-book hero?) where he basically goes into the woods for 7 days and starves.

Hopefully he was wearing his brand new Columbia jackets like Les always did. Did he bring a harmonica too, but leave his firestarting equipment back home? Did he bring his guitar and a car battery but leave his water bottle back home?
Click to expand...


Seems like people try very hard to blame the show in question in cases like this. Les Stroud has done absolutely nothing wrong, and neither have the producers of the Survivorman show. The show is for entertainment purposes only, and even has a disclaimer for those that have intelligence low enough to be ignorant of that fact.

Natural selection of the human race has taken a back seat to the lifestyles of today. People dont need any special or extraordinary skills to be able to live comfortably in todays society. Because of this, people lose track of how important specialized skills can be in certain situations. People dont realize how much we all really depend on modern technology. When a brown out occurs, most everyone is sorely inconvenienced.

It really shows the (un)intelligence of a lot of the sheeple out there when someone thinks they can emulate a very knowledgable and experienced survival expert because he saw him do something on television (if, in fact, that was the case).
 
Candian trail man Stroud Admits in his book THat he deliberately makes the wrong choices numerous times throughout his show... to keep it interestingto the viewers...for the general public (not for folks like us) watching a skilled woodsman camp for a week would be boring...so he plays up the misery and drama

he and hi wife actual lived an hunter gatherer lifestyle for an entire year in the candian North with nothing but stone tools (although they got an axe later on) he know what he's doing...Check out he documentary snowshoes and solitude

I agree with practicing safely..thats the way I practice... i try to keep things minimal..but always have a safety net.
 
I think basics don't get emphasized enough on TV and even here. Avoiding hypothermia, having enough food and clean water might not be sexy but are important. If you only went by some postings you would think all you need is a knife and fire making supplies.
 
This guy also had a serious medical condition that could render him immobile for days. He screwed up IMO: bad planning, overconfident, unfamiliar with the environment.

a good news video link here: (it has a short commercial at the start)

Goal #1: stay out of the news.

lasttrip.jpg
 
“TV abstracts the real ugliness of survival,” said Ferri, who runs a school called Survival in the Bush and trained Stroud back in the day. “They make the wilderness look like it’s a romantic place. Well, it’s romantic, as long as you have all your gear and you’re camping and enjoying it. In a survival situation, it’s a nightmare.”

Personally I don't think that Les Stoud makes the wilderness seem overly romantic. He really emphasises how dangerous, depressing and lonely a survival situation can be. I agree that he dumbs it down a little to make it more realistic. He is more than capable of living more comfortably than he typically does in his shows.

Varg Logos, does it adversly effect you if Les has a Harmonica when he is "surviving" somewhere? That is one of his passions in life, and he apparently always carrys it.
 
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